Best Military Diet Substitutes: 3 Day Meal Plan

A perfect diet program to lose weight in a very short time period. Military diet substitutes focus on weight loss of people up to 10 pounds, and the diet is a 3 days plan. It’s always preferable to substitute some food items from your regular diet plan for better results.

People also recognize military diets as navy diets, 3-day diet programs, or ice cream diets. If you’re someone looking for a military diet substitutes program then, this is the right place for you.

If you’re looking for substitutes for the military diet, it’s a good idea to focus on balanced and nutritious meal options that support your weight loss or overall health goals.

1. Military Diet Substitutes

The military diet plan is all about a low-calorie¹ diet plan that helps in losing weight very quickly. Before trying a military diet substitute plan, you must talk with your doctor for better clarity, as it may not work for everyone.

The main principle of this diet is to eat restrict your food intake for continuous 3 days and then eat regularly for 4 days. In this type of diet, the foods allowed or included are:

• Crackers (saltine)
• Bananas
• Toast
• Ice cream (vanilla)
• Hot dogs

Generally, these foods are there in the list for a 3-day diet plan. This diet works similarly as it works for military people under recruitment willing to lose weight really fast.

You can also substitute food items in your military diet program if you are allergic ²to them. Just make sure you choose all the substitutes according to the benefits of the original food.

The substitutes that would help lose weight by maintaining the calorie constraints in the military diet are the following:

1.1. Alternative/Substitutes Options For Apple

• Grapes
• Peace
• Plum
• Dried Apricots
• Pears

These could be added to your military diet substitutes list for giving the same results as apples could give.

1.2. Alternatives/Substitutes Options For Eggs

• Bacon
• Avocado
• Milk
• Chicken Wing
• Seeds
• Nuts
• Baked Beans

All these would be great substitutes for eggs in your military diet, as these foods are extremely high in protein content.

1.3. Alternatives/ Substitutions For Grapefruit

You won’t find a lot of options for military diet substitutes in the case of grapefruit. There is some information about baking soda dissolved in water as a great replacement for grapefruit.

According to a report published by Military Diet Website, baking soda is alkaline in nature. Alkaline foods are great for fat burning and encourage weight loss, hence baking soda could be added to your military diet substitutes plan.

Also, you shouldn’t add oranges to your military diet substitutes list for grapefruit as they are highly acidic³.

1.4. Alternatives/ Substitutions For Carrots, Beans (Green), And Broccoli

• Cauliflower
• Bell Pepper
• Lettuce
• Spinach
• Tomato
• Squash
• Green vegetables (of your choice)

1.5. Alternatives/Substitutes For Peanut Butter

• Almond butter
• Cashew butter
• Soy butter
• Pumpkin butter
• Bean dip
• Butter Hummus
• Sunflower seeds

Make sure you take 2 tablespoons of each item for substituting the peanut butter.

1.6. Alternatives/Substitutes For Toast (Or Saltine Crackers)

• Protein bar
• Tortilla
• Rice cakes
• Whole grain cereals
• Sunflower seeds
• Yogurt with flax seeds

1.7. Alternatives/Substitutions For Tuna

• Grilled sushi-grade tuna
• Cottage cheese
• Tofu
• Almonds
• Chicken (lean meat)

Vegan people could go for hummus and avocado as their substitutes for tuna.

1.8. Alternative/Substitutes For Cottage Cheese

For vegan diet people,

• Almond milk
• Soy
• Hep
• Hummus

1.9. Alternatives/Substitutes For Hot Dogs:

• Lentils
• Portobello mushroom
• Beans
• Turkey hotdogs
• Bratwurst

Hot dogs serve the protein content part of your military diet, so it’s pivotal to add foods rich in protein content.

1.10. Alternatives/Substitutes For Vanilla Icecream And Coffee Or Tea:

• Almond milk
• Diary free icecream
• Apple juice
• Fruit flavored yogurt
• Green tea or herbal tea (for coffee)

2. Effectiveness of Military Diet Substitutes

No doubt! Military diet programs are great for short diet plans⁴ (3 days) and quick weight loss, but there are some drawbacks. The calorie content equals 0 which creates a huge point of consideration for health-concerned people. If you take food like hot dogs and meats only, the calcium, fats, and other minerals won’t enter your body.

You will lack many essential nutrients that your body needs if you follow this diet, and hence, this may invite diseases. Military diet substitutes work pretty well for weight loss but is not recommended for a nutritious rich body. Also, it will not be great for long-term diet programs, as they trigger cravings.

Sometimes, you may face the issue of over-eating due to a lack of nutrients and very restricted food in the diet. Therefore, if you wish to try out a military diet substitute plan then you must consult an expert or doctor for a better suggestion according to your body type.

3. How To Start A Military Diet Plan?

3.1. First day of military diet:

3.1.1. Breakfast

Toast – 1 slice/piece
Peanut butter- 2 tablespoons
Grapefruit – ½ of a whole fruit
Coffee or tea – 1 cup

3.1.2. Lunch

Toast –1 slice
Tuna –1/2 cup
Coffee or tea- 1 cup

3.1.3. Dinner

Protein (according to your choice- 3 ounces)
String beans – 1 cup
Beets or carrots- 1 cup
Vanilla ice cream – 1 cup
Apple (small)- 1

2. Second day of military diet:

3.2.1. Breakfast

egg- 1 whole
Toast- 1 slice
Banana- ½

3.2.2. Lunch

Hard-boiled egg- 1
Cottage cheese- 1 cup
Saltine crackers- 5

3.2.3. Dinner

Hot dogs- 2 (without bun)
Broccoli- 1 cup
Carrots- 1 cup
Banana- ½
Vanilla icecream- ½

3. Third day of military diet:

3.3.1. Breakfast

Black coffee (or tea)- 1 cup
Cheddar cheese- 1 slice
Saltine crackers- 5
Small apple- 1

3.3.2. Lunch

Slice toast- 1 slice
Hard-boiled egg- 1
Black coffee or tea- 1 cup

3.3.3. Dinner

Tuna (or chicken)- 1 cup
Carrots (or beets)- 1 cup
Green leafy vegetables (or cauliflower)- 1 cup
Vanilla icecream- ½ cup
Cantaloupe- 1 cup

You must note that following this diet is very important without tampering with the guidelines. For example, if the chart if it says to have 1 cup, you must not take below the required quantity. Also, before trying out any substitutes, you must ask an expert about the quantity to be taken (as it may vary for a substitute).

4. Conclusion

Military diet substitutes would work really well if your meal plan area according to the principles of the military diet.
The amount of calories in military diet substitutes is minimal (equivalent to a zero-calorie meal plan), so this will definitely aid weight management through quick weight loss. Make sure to check with your doctor before trusting or trying any diet, as people’s body types and requirements may not suit every type of diet plan.

Military diet substitutes are no doubt a great plan to achieve a good body type by restricting your calorie intake. Go ahead! And try out this astounding military diet substitute for claiming its weight loss results.

FAQ

1. Rondanelli, Mariangela, et al. “The potential roles of very low calorie, very low calorie ketogenic diets and very low carbohydrate diets on the gut microbiota composition.” Frontiers in Endocrinology 12 (2021): 662591. ↩︎
2. Pakkasela, Johanna, et al. “Age-specific incidence of allergic and non-allergic asthma.” BMC pulmonary medicine 20 (2020): 1-9. ↩︎
3. Li, Leigang, et al. “Recent progress in advanced electrocatalyst design for acidic oxygen evolution reaction.” Advanced Materials 33.50 (2021): 2004243. ↩︎
4. Phillips, Matthew CL, et al. “Randomized crossover trial of a modified ketogenic diet in Alzheimer’s disease.” Alzheimer’s research & therapy 13 (2021): 1-12. ↩︎

Last Updated on March 30, 2024 by Suchi